Luciano Acosta Helps Lead FC Cincinnati to Its First-Ever MLS Supporters’ Shield

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Luciano Acosta has helped FC Cincinnati make history….

With a league-leading 15 goals as well as 13 assists from the 29-year-old Argentine professional footballer to make him the clear front-runner for the Major League Soccer MVP award, FC Cincinnati won the MLS Supporters’ Shield for the first time in club history with a 3-2 win at Toronto FC on Saturday, completing a remarkable turnaround for the former perennial MLS basement dweller.

Cincinnati has led the MLS regular-season standings for the majority of the 2023 season before its win in Toronto gave the team an unassailable lead over its rivals with three games to play.

With 65 points from 31 matches, Cincinnati can no longer be caught by its nearest challengers St. Louis City SC, Orlando City and the New England Revolution.

Saturday’s win also ensures Cincinnati will take the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and will have home-field advantage throughout the MLS Cup playoffs.

Cincinnati is the 16th different club in MLS’ 28 seasons to win the Supporters’ Shield and the fifth active team to do so in its first five seasons in the league.

The achievement is made all the more notable given that in its first three seasons in the league, between 2019 and 2021, Cincinnati finished as the worst team in MLS. The club’s first three seasons rank among the 10 worst in the history of MLS, with Cincinnati long seen as a symbol of dysfunction on and off the field.

But the tide began to turn last season with the appointment of former Philadelphia Union assistant Pat Noonan — the club’s fourth permanent head coach in MLS — and the arrival of Acosta.

A first playoff appearance followed at the end of 2022 before the team came storming out of the gates in 2023, losing just one of its first 18 matches.

Despite clinching the Supporters’ Shield, Cincinnati still has something to play for in the remainder of the regular season. Should the team win its final three games, it will eclipse the single-season MLS points record of 73 set by the New England Revolution in 2021.

Gerardo “Tata” Martino Named Coach of Inter Miami CF

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Gerardo “Tata” Martino is returning to Major League Soccer…

The 60-year-old Argentine professional football manager and former player has been hired as the coach of Inter Miami CF, the club has revealed.

The hire comes in the wake of fellow Argentine Lionel Messi‘s announcement earlier this month that he intends to sign with the club. Martino previously coached Messi with Barcelona (2013-14) and the Argentina national team (2014-16).

“We are very happy to be able to welcome Tata to Inter Miami. We feel he is a coach who matches our ambitions as a club and we’re optimistic about what we can accomplish together,” Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas said in a statement.

“Tata has coached at the highest levels and we believe that experience will be hugely beneficial to us as we aim to compete for titles here.”

Most recently, Martino coached the Mexico national team (2019-2022) after a two-year stint with Atlanta United, where he won MLS Cup and the Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year award in 2018.

“Right now, this is a team that shows an adverse picture in the standings,” Martino said of the Eastern Conference‘s last-place team. “It is also decimated by injuries and by the players called up to their national teams.

“But there are great expectations around the new players that are going to come soon. They are really important. I hope that they can help us to make the team better from an emotional and playing point of view so we can have a season-ending more in line with what is expected of this club.”

Martino is the third permanent head coach Inter Miami has had since joining the league in the 2020 season. Former Uruguay national team coach Diego Alonso coached the team during its expansion season before Phil Neville was hired prior to the 2021 season.

Miami qualified as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season but was eliminated in the first round. Neville was fired earlier this month with the team in last place.

Mas told media outlets last week he expects Messi to play his first game for the club on July 21 in the Leagues Cup against Liga MX‘s Cruz Azul. The club also announced Messi’s longtime teammate at Barcelona, Sergio Busquets, will also make the move to South Florida and Inter Miami this summer.

Brook Lopez Returning to Milwaukee Bucks Lineup Against Utah Jazz After Recovering from Back Surgery

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Brook Lopez is getting back in the game…

The 33-year-old Cuban-American professional basketball player and Milwaukee Bucks center who has been out with a back injury since opening night, will make his return to the lineup against the Utah Jazz on Monday night, the team announced.

Lopez’s return fortifies the Bucks’ front line as the franchise prepares for the Eastern Conference playoffs and the chance to defend their NBA championship.

Lopez had back surgery on December 2, and had been rehabilitating the injury until he was cleared to return to full contact in practice a week ago.

The Bucks are outside of the league’s top 10 in defensive efficiency for the first time in coach Mike Budenholzer‘s tenure, and part of the reason is that they’ve been playing without Lopez’s rebounding and rim protection.

Milwaukee is 42-26 and second in the Eastern Conference behind the Miami Heat. Lopez was third in the NBA a year ago with 163 defensive box-outs, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

He also ranked second in field goal percentage allowed at the rim among 72 players to defend 200 shots, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Only the Golden State Warriors‘ Draymond Green (47.3%) rated better than Lopez (49.3%).

Lopez averaged 12.3 points, five rebounds and 1.5 blocks a year ago.

Alejandro Pozuelo Named Major League Soccer’s 2020 Most Valuable Player

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Alejandro Pozuelo is the most-est…

The 29-year-old Spanish professional footballer, an attacking midfielder for Toronto FC, has been named Major League Soccer‘s 2020 Most Valuable Player.

Pozuelo had nine goals and 10 assists during the coronavirus-shortened regular season, even while the Reds played part of the year in Connecticut because of travel restrictions in Canada.

“I’m very proud because this means a lot and maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, when I start seeing more news, I will believe that I’ve won this award,” he said. “But I’m very proud to represent Toronto. And I know it’s easy to say that I won the award, but it’s something that takes a lot of work to get here.”

His 10 assists were tied for the league lead with Houston‘s Darwin Quintero and Seattle‘s Nicolas Lodeiro. Pozuelo had four goals and two assists during September, earning MLS Player of the Month honors.

Pozuelo is the second Toronto FC player to win the MVP award, following Sebastian Giovinco in 2015. Hailing from Sevilla, he has been with the Reds for the past two seasons. He had 12 goals and 12 assists last year. He had two goals and an assist in his MLS debut.

Pozuelo finished with 35.35% of the overall vote for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award. Golden Boot winner Diego Rossi of LAFC was runner-up and Lodeiro finished third in the poll of players, technical staffs and select members of the media.

In a conference call with reporters, Pozuelo said he feels he’ll only get better.

“I believe in myself, I know I can play good, and I try to do that,” he said. “But I feel like I played three, four, five years at a very good level and next year I’ll try to do the same.”

Toronto finished the regular season 13-5-5 and second in the Eastern Conference standings. The Reds were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by upstart Nashville. Toronto coach Greg Vanney announced last week that he’s stepping down and the Reds have started the search for a new coach.

“Vanney is a very good coach and a very good person and he helped me a lot to win this MVP. I want to say thank you to the coach,” he said. “He leaves now, and next year we’ll adapt to another coach. But I want to say thank you because with him I won this trophy.”

Lopez: A Late Addition to the 2013 NBA All-Star Team

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Then there were two…

Brook Lopez will be joining Carmelo Anthony in Houston this month.

The 24-year-old half-Cuban American Brooklyn Nets center has been named as an Eastern Conference All-Star reserve by NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Stern picked Lopez to replace Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, who was voted in by the fans as a starter but will have to miss the rest of the season due to a right ACL tear last month.

Lopez, initially passed over for an All-Star spot, will now make his debut in that NBA mid-season showcase on February 17 at the Toyota Center in Houston. He will be Brooklyn’s lone representative.

“It’s a huge honor,” Lopez said in a statement after the Nets’ 105-85 home loss this week to the Miami Heat.

“First and foremost, I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. They make my job 100 times easier, playing with Deron (Williams), Joe (Johnson), Gerald (Wallace), they gift wrap me buckets and take a lot of attention away from me on the court. It is something I have been working towards and it’s been a goal of mine and it will definitely be an exciting weekend.”

This season, Lopez is averaging 18.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game – tops for his team in all three categories.

Anthony: The Lone Latino 2013 NBA All-Star

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Carmelo Anthony will be getting some extra play time this season, thanks to his dedicated fans…

The New York Knicks forward has been named as an Eastern Conference starter for the 2013 NBA All-Star game, which will take place next month in Houston. The players are voted-in by fans around the world, often leading to some interesting results.

It will be the sixth All-Star game for the 28-year-old half-Puerto Rican basketball star, the only Latino selected as an All-Star this year. Anthony earned 1,460,950, behind only the Miami Heat‘s LeBron James in the Eastern Conference. The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was the overall top vote-getter.

This season Anthony has been a scoring machine. He currently has 28 straight 20-point games.

The 62nd NBA All-Star Game will take place at the Toyota Center in Houston on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013 at 8:00 pm ET, televised exclusively on TNT and broadcast exclusively on ESPN Radio in the U.S.

The All-Star Game will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.

Here’s a look at the 2013 NBA All-Star Game Roster:

Eastern Conference Starter	Appearance
LeBron James, F, MIA	9th
Carmelo Anthony, F, NYK	6th
Dwyane Wade, G, MIA	9th
Rajon Rondo, G, BOS	4th
Kevin Garnett, F, BOS	15th
Reserve	Appearance
Kyrie Irving, G, CLE	1st
Jrue Holiday, G, PHI	1st
Tyson Chandler, C, NYK	1st
Joakim Noah, C, CHI	1st
Luol Deng, F, CHI	2nd
Paul George, F, IND	1st
Chris Bosh, F, MIA	8th

Western Conference Starter	Appearance
Kobe Bryant, G, LAL	15th
Kevin Durant, F, OKC	4th
Chris Paul, G, LAC	6th
Dwight Howard, C, LAL	7^th
Blake Griffin, F, LAC	3^rd
Reserve	Appearance
R. Westbrook, G, OKC	3^rd
James Harden, G, HOU	1^st
Tim Duncan, C, SAS	14^th
Tony Parker, G, SAS	5^th
L. Aldridge, F, POR	2^nd
David Lee, F, GS	2^nd
Zach Randolph, F, MEM	2^nd

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Eastern Conference